Cordless electric vibrator for use on the human body



United States Patent inventor App]. No. Filed Patented Jon H. Tavel.

17643 Belinda SL, Encino, Calif. 91316 835,712

June 23, 1969 Division of Ser. No. 715,631, Mar. 25, 1968, Pat. No.3,451,391, which is a continuationin-part of Ser. No. 516,867, June 30,1966, Pat. No. 3,375,381.

Dec. 22, 1970 CORDLESS ELECTRIC VIBRATOR FOR USE ON THE HUMAN BODY 7Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 310/68, 310/81, 128/36 Int. Cl. H02k 11/00 Field ofSearch310/66, 68,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Tavel Abel Gawron Turley TavelOmori Primary Examiner-D. F. Duggan Attorney-Robert C. ComstockABSTRACT: A cordless electric vibrator which is adapted for use on thehuman body. The vibrator is small and compact, and can be held in onehand and applied to any part of the body. The structure is simple andcompact and the exterior housing may comprise only one piece of moldedplastic, except for the removable cap. The vibrator may be selectivelyoperated at high or low speed by manual rotation of the end cap.

PATENTEI] 0&0221970 Jaw ff. rave] SHEET 1 BF 2 IN VENTOR.

l/forme r CORDLESS ELECTRIC VIBRATOR-FOR USE ON THE HUMAN BODYCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention t The invention relates to cordless electricvibrators for use on the human body.

2. Description of the Prior Art Prior art vibrating devices arecustomarily operated from conventional sources of electricalsupplythrough cords or wiring. They are also customarily bulky andawkward in size and shape and relatively expensive to manufacture. Theprior art devices also do not have simple and effective means for selectively operating at high and low speeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a cordless electricvibrator for use on the human body which is substantially small andcompact so that the vibrator can be held in one hand and applied to anypart of the body without being connected to a separate course ofelectrical supply.

The vibrator is unusually simple and compact in its structure, so thatit is economical to manufacture and to maintain.

In one embodiment of the invention, the exterior housing may be formedof a single piece of molded plastic (except for the removable cap), theexterior of which is capable of being washed. The vibrator may be usedto vibrate other things such as hairbrushes, toothbrushes, polishingdevices, etc.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a cordlesselectric vibrator for use on the human body which may be selectivelyoperated at low or high speed, as desired by the user, by simplemanualrotationo'f theend cap.

It is another object of the invention to provide a two-speed vibratorwhich is simple and economical to manufacture and to use.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide avibrator having all of the advantages and benefits set forth above anddescribed in greater detail hereinafter in this application.

My invention also comprises such other objects, ad vantages,capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherentlypossessed by the invention.

- While I have shown in the accompanying drawings preferred embodimentsof the invention, it should be understood that the same are susceptibleof modification and change without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of myvibrator;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same fully assembled;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the same taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; 1

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the battery housing taken from the right handside of FIG. 2, with the batteries and end cap removed;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the inside of the end cap;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternative embodiment ofthe invention in which the outside housing except for the end capcomprises a single piece;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the same, taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternative embodiment ofthe end cap portion of the vibrator in which the end cap includes atwo-speed control means, the control means being shown in high speedposition;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the interior of the end cap shown in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1-6 ofthedrawings, a first embodiment which has been selected to illustrate myinvention comprises an elongated cylindrical battery housing 16, whichmay be conveniently formed of molded plastic or other suitable material.The battery housing 10 is adapted to receive and hold a pair offlashlight batteries 11 in the same end to end relationship in whichbatteries are mounted in a flashlight.

The lower end of the battery housing 10, which is disposed at the righthand side of FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, is open and is adapted toremovably receive'an end cap 12. The end cap 12 has a base and anadjoining circular sidewall. The end cap 12 is removably and rotatably,mounted on the lower end of the battery housing 10. The end cap 12serves two purposes-it holds the batteries 11 within the battery housing10 and it acts as an on-off switch to control the flow of electricalcurrent to the motor, as described hereafter.

Mounted on the inside of the base of the end cap 12 is a substantiallyU-shaped contact spring 13, the lower part of which is in physical andelectrical contact with the midportion of a pair of contact arms 14,which extendoutwardly on opposite sides of the contact spring 13 toadjacent the sidewall of the end cap 12. The contact spring 13 andcontact arms 14 are held in place by an eyelet 15, which secured to thecenter of the end cap 12.

The inside of the sidewall of the end cap 12 is provided with a pair ofdiametrically spaced bosses 16, which protrude inwardly a shortdistance. The outside of the lower end of the battery housing 10 isprovided witha pair of substantially L- shaped slots 17, which have ashort axial leg 18 connecting with a substantially longer transverse leg19. The bosses 16 are dimensioned and adapted to slidably-move into theopen lower end of the short axial legs 18 of the slots 17 and then movefrom the upper end of the axial legs 18 into the transverse legs 19. i

The lower edge of each of the transverse legs 19 of the slots 17 isangled slightly downwardly from its closed end toward its junction withthe axial leg 18. A short stop 20 is disposed at one end of the loweredge of each of the transverse legs 19, directly adjacent to theintersection of the transverse leg 19 with the axial leg 18. The stop 20acts to engage the boss 16 in its counterclockwise movement along theaxial leg 18. The boss 16 can be moved past the stop 2.0 only by movingthe end cap 12 inwardly against the pressure of the contact spring 13.The stop 20 accordingly prevents accidental removal of the end cap 12and batteries 11 and permits such removal only when the end cap 12 ismoved inwardly and then rotated past the stop 20.

An elongated flat contact strip 21, which may be formed of copper orother suitable electrically conductive material, extends along the innerwall of the battery housing 10 for its entire length. The lower end ofthe contact strip 21 is bent back on itself to extend into a slot 22which extends axially into the lower end of the battery housing 10.

The upper end of the contact strip 21 extends through a notch 50 in theperiphery of a disc 24 which extends across the upper end of the batteryhousing 10. The upper end of the contact strip 21 is bent to extendradially inwardly between protuberances 53 and 54 formed on the uppersurface of the disc 24.

A second contact strip 25 has one end thereof disposed betweenprotuberances 54 and 55 on the upper surface of the disc 24 radiallyspaced from the first contact strip 21. The second contact strip 25 isformed integrally with a contact plate 27, which extends along the lowersurface of the disc 24.

The second contact strip 25 is bent to extend through a notch 51 in theperiphery of the disc 24. The contact plate'27 has a downwardly struckcontact 28 which resiliently engages the contact of the adjacent battery11. A short tab 29 at the opposite side of the contact plate 27 extendsupwardly through a hole 30 in the disc 24, to help hold the contactplate 27 in position.

The disc 24 is provided with a central opening 31, which is surroundedby a concentric circularring 32 and seat 33. A resilient O-ring 34 ismounted on the seat 33 surrounding the ring 32. A small direct currentelectrical motor 35 is mounted on the upper end of the disc 24. Whileany suitable type of motor may be used, the one illustrated in thedrawings is a Mabuchi FM 25 of the type commonly used in miniature slotracing cars. p

The motor 35 has a projecting portion 36 which fits into the opening 31in the center of the disc 24. The O-ring 34 is disposed between thebottom of the motor 35 and the disc 24 and it acts to provide aresilient cushionlike mounting which reduces noise.

The upper side of the disc 24 is provided with a pair of elongatedlocator pins 37 which fit loosely in a pair of grooves 38 which aredisposed on opposite sides of the motor 35. The locator pins 37 andgrooves 38 orient the motor 35 so that its two downwardly directedcontact pins 39 engage and make electrical contact with the portions ofthe contact strips 21 and 25 which extend along the upper side of thedisc 24.

A cylindrical motor housing 40 surrounds the motor 35. The lower end ofthe motor housing is secured to the upper end of the battery housing 10by electronic fusion, adhesive or other suitable means, preferablywaterproof, with the periphery of the disc 24 being held between thebattery housing 10 and the motor housing 40.

A conical end member 41 is removably connected to the upper end of themotor housing .40. The inner wall of the motor housing 40 is providedwith a pair of diametrically spaced square bosses 42 which extend'intoL-shaped slots 43 in the end member 41 in substantially the same mannerin which the end cap 12 is connected to the battery-housing 10. There isno stop or the equivalent thereof. The lower edge of the transverseportion of eachof the slots 43 is preferably slightly angled so that theend member 41 fits progressively more tightly as the bosses 42 movetoward the ends of the transverse portions of the slots 43. Theengagement between the end member 41 and the motor housing 40 shouldalso preferably be waterproof, so that the entire upper end poru'on ofthe vibrator can be washed.

The motor 35 in operation rotates a shaft 44 on which a weight 45 iseccentrically mounted. The periphery of the disc 24 has an arcuategroove 46 into which projections 47 and 48 carried by the batteryhousing 10 and motor housing 40 fit, in order to orient the parts withrespect to each other.

The lower end of the battery housing 10 is provided with a squareindentation 56 which overlies the slot 22, so that the contact strip 21overlies the inner half of the base of the indentation 56. A secondindentation 57 is radially spaced a short distance from the indentation56. A matching pair of indentations 58 and 59 are disposed diametricallyfrom the indentations 56 and 57.

The indentations 56-59 are oriented so that when the bosses 16 aredisposed away from the closed end of the transverse legs 19 of the slots17, the vibrator is in an off position and neither of the contact arms14 is disposed in the indentation 56.

When the end cap 12 is rotated in a clockwise direction with respect tothe battery housing 10, moving the bosses 16 to the closed ends of thetransverse legs 19 of the slots 17, the contact arms 14 are moved intoalignment with the indentations 56-59. The contact arms are urged intothe indentations 56 and 59 by their own resilience, bringing one of thecontact arms 14 into engagement with the portion of the contact strip 21disposed within the indentation 56. When this occurs, an electricalcircuit is completed through the batteries 11 and motor 35, to operatethe motor. The vibrator is then in an on" position.

When the motor 35 is in operation, it rotates the shaft 44 andeccentrically mounted weight 45. The eccentric mounting of the weight 15imparts rapid vibration to the vibrator, such vibration being strongestaround the end member 41 and motor housing 40. The vibrator andparticularly these parts thereof may then be applied to any part of thebody to convey the vibration to the body. 1 I

If the end cap 12 is rotated a short distance counterclockwise, thebosses 16 will move away from the closed ends of the transverse legs 19and the contact arms 14 will move out of the indentations 56 and 59,thus breaking the electrical contact between the contact arm 14 and thecontact strip 21. The motor 35 will then cease to operate. If the endcap 12 is rotated a sufficient distance to bring the contact arms 14into orientation with the indentations 57 and 58, the contact arms 14will move into those indentations.

It may be noted that the duplication of the contact arms 14 andindentations 56-59 makes it possible for the user to insert either ofthe bosses 16 into either of the slots 17 and the switch will stilloperate in the same manner.

it will be noted that if the motor 35 should need to be removed forreplacement or repair, the user need only unscrew the end member 41 andturn the vibrator upside down. The motor35 will then drop out and a newmotor 35 can be inserted in its place. l Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 ofthe drawings, these show an alternative embodiment of the invention inwhich a single elongated housing holds the batteries 101 and motor 102.The housing is provided adjacent its inner end with an annular inwardlydirected shoulder 103. A cylindrical sleeve 104, which is preferablyformed of somewhat resilient plastic or natural material is mounted sothat its upper end engages the shoulder 103. The motor 102 is mountedwithin the sleeve 104, which acts to hold the motor 102 in place withinthe housing 100 and which also provides protective shielding of themotor.

The motor 102 has a right angular resilient contact arm 105 whichcarries at the end thereof an inverted contact cup 106, which makeselectrical contact with the contact of the adjacent battery 101.

The other contact of the motor 102 is connected by a fastening member,soldering or other suitable means to the upper end of an elongatedcontact strip 107. The lower end of the contact strip 107 extends acrossan indentation 108 in the end of the housing 100, back into a slot 109and is then bent laterally outwardly to hold the contact strip againstlongitudinal movement and to prevent it from pulling away from itsconnection with the motor 102. Access to the lower end of the contactstrip 107 is provided through a small opening 109a, which extends intothe sidewall of the housing 100, intersecting the slot 109. The point ofa tool can be inserted through the opening 109a to engage and deform theend of the contact strip 107. While this deformation is shown in thedrawings as being right angular, any suitable deformation which willserve the purpose may be used.

it will be noted that the device shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawingsis substantially cheaper to manufacture and assemble than the deviceshown in FIGS. 1-6 because the number of parts and the number and typeof assembly operations have been greatly reduced and simplified.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawings, these illustrate a furtheralternative embodiment of the invention which incorporates the samecontact strip construction described above and in which the motor can beselectively operated at either high or low speed, with the speedselection being accomplished by manual rotation of the end cap 110.

The inside of the end cap 110 is provided with a contact spring 111, thelower part of which is in physical and electrical contact with themidportion of a pair of contact arms 112, which extend outwardly onopposite sides of the contact spring 111 to adjacent the sidewall of theend cap 110.

A flat sheet of insulation 113 is disposed beneath the contact arms 112to insulate them electrically from a second pair of similarly formedcontact arms 114, which extend at an angle with respect to the contactarms 112.

A resistance element 115, which is shown as an elongated coil of wire,but which may assume any suitable form, is connected between one of thecontact arms 112 and one of the contact arms 114. The end cap hasbosses116 corresponding to the bosses 16 described above. The end of thehousing with which the end cap 110 is used is preferably the same asthat described above with reference to FIGS. 1l-6 of the drawings andthe same reference numerals will accordingly be used.

The contact arms 112 and 114 are so positioned within the end cap 110with respect to the bosses 116 that when the end cap 112 is rotated tobring the bosses ll6into engagement with the closed end of thetransverse legs 29 of the slots 17, one of the contact arms 112 isbroughtinto engagement with the portion of the contact strip which isdisposed within the indentation 56 in the end of the housingThis closesan electrical circuit through the batteries and motor for high speedrotation of the motor, i

The end cap 110 may be rotated to move the bosses 1R6 away from theclosed ends of the slots 17 and to move one of the other pair of contactarms 114 into engagement with the portion of the contact strip disposedwithin the indentation 56. This closes a circuit from the contact stripthrough the contact arm 114, through the resistance element 115 andthrough the other contact arm 112 to the contact spring 111 and theadjacent battery.

Since the resistance element 115 is thereby brought into se-. ries withthe motor, it consumes part of the current supplied by the batteries, sothat the motor will be supplied with less current than when the end cap110 was in the previous position and the vibrator willaccordinglyioperate at a reduced speed.

If the end cap 110 is disposed in any position in which none of thecontact arms 112 or 114 is in engagement with the contact strip, therewill be no current flow to the motor and the vibrator will be turnedoff.

lclaim:

1. A cordless electric vibrator for use on the human body, said vibratorcomprising a housing, an electrically operated motor disposed withinsaid housing, a shaft rotatably connected to said motor, aneccentrically mounted weight carried by said shaft to impart vibrationto said housing upon the operation of said motor, at least one dry cellbattery disposed within said housing, a contact strip connected at oneend thereof to said motor, a rotatable member mounted on said housingand acting as a switch to control the operation of said motor, a contactarm carried by said rotatable member, said contact arm beingelectrically connected to said battery, said rotatable member beingrotatable with respect to said housing to an operating position in whichsaid contact arm engages said contact strip to complete an electricalcircuit through said battery and motor, said rotatable member beingrotatable to a nonoperating position in which said contact arm is out ofengagement with said contact strip, a second contact arm carried by saidrotatable member, said second contact arm being electrically insulatedfrom said first contact arm and said battery, and a resistance elementconnected to said first and second contact arms, said rotatable memberbeing rotatable to a second operating position in whichsaid secondcontact arm engages said contact strip to complete an electrical circuitthrough said motor, battery and resistance element to operate said motorat a lower speed. i

2. The structure described in claim 1, said resistance elementcomprising a coil mounted within said rotatable member and extendingbetween said contact arms.

3. The structure described in claim 2, said rotatable member comprisinga circular end cap," each of said contact arms extending diametricallyacross the inside of said end cap, said second contact am being disposedat an angle with res pect to said first Contact arm. I

.. The structure described in claim 3, said end cap having a centralcontact spring, said first contact arm being connected to said contactspring and said second contact arm being insulated from said contactspring.

5. The structure described in claim 4, said housing being elongated andsubstantially cylindrical, said housing having a closed end and an openend, said motor being disposed adjacent to said closed end, said end capbeing rotatably and removably mounted on said open end of said housing,said end cap being disposed adjacent to said battery and acting to holdsaid battery within said housing.

6. The structure described in claim 5, said contact strip beingelongated and extending along the inside of said housing from said motorto the open end of said housing, said contact arms being adapted tocontact the portion of said contact strip adjacent to open end of saidhousing.

7. The structure described in claim 6, the open end of said housinghaving a longitudinally axial slot, the end of said contact strip beingbent back upon itself and extending a substantial distance into saidaxial slot to anchor said contact strip against movement with respect tosaid housing, said housing having a transverse opening thereinintersecting said axial slot, the end of said contact strip beinglaterally deformed into said transverse opening to prevent thewithdrawal of said contact strip from said axial opening.

